The bold design and harmoniously clashing color palette of this Medallion quilt exemplify some of the qualities that made works from Gee’s Bend a sensation when they were first introduced to art museum visitors in 2002. While often equated with abstract paintings by white men, these quilts are solely the products of the needs and aesthetics of the African American women who made them. In this case, Loretta Pettway composed a thrilling design through clever improvisation with a simple block form. She created six blocks with multicolored strips of fabric, and then stitched three together with the strips arranged horizontally and three with the strips turned vertically. The juxtaposition of the blocks creates a jarring rhythm that pleases the eye, and the black and white borders add to the sophistication of the design.
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the artist, Gee's Bend, Ala.(until 1999; in 1999 to Arnett); William S. Arnett, Atlanta (1999–2002; his gift in 2002 to Tinwood Alliance); Tinwood Alliance, Atlanta (2002–10; transfer in 2010 to Souls Grown Deep); Souls Grown Deep Foundation, Atlanta (2010–14; their gift to MMA)
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "The Quilts of Gee's Bend," September 8–November 10, 2002, unnumbered cat. (p. 52; lent by the Tinwood Alliance, Atlanta).
New York. Whitney Museum of American Art. "The Quilts of Gee's Bend," November 21, 2002–March 9, 2003, unnumbered cat.
Mobile, Ala. Mobile Museum of Art. "The Quilts of Gee's Bend," June 14–August 31, 2003, unnumbered cat.
Milwaukee Art Museum. "The Quilts of Gee's Bend," September 27, 2003–January 4, 2004, unnumbered cat.
Washington, D.C. Corcoran Gallery of Art. "The Quilts of Gee's Bend," February 14–May 17, 2004, unnumbered cat.
Cleveland Museum of Art. "The Quilts of Gee's Bend," June 27–September 12, 2004, unnumbered cat.
Norfolk, Va. Chrysler Museum of Art. "The Quilts of Gee's Bend," October 15, 2004–January 2, 2005, unnumbered cat.
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. "The Quilts of Gee's Bend," February 13–May 8, 2005, unnumbered cat.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. "The Quilts of Gee's Bend," June 1–August 21, 2005, unnumbered cat.
Auburn, Ala. The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University. "The Quilts of Gee's Bend," September 11–December 4, 2005, unnumbered cat.
Atlanta. High Museum of Art. "The Quilts of Gee's Bend," March 25–June 18, 2006, unnumbered cat.
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, M. H. de Young Memorial Museum. "The Quilts of Gee's Bend," July 15–November 12, 2006, unnumbered cat.
Orlando Museum of Art. "Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt," January 28–April 22, 2007, unnumbered cat. (p. 144; lent by the Tinwood Alliance, Atlanta).
Baltimore. Walters Art Museum. "Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt," June 17–August 26, 2007, unnumbered cat.
Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale. "The Quilts of Gee's Bend," September 6, 2007–January 7, 2008, unnumbered cat.
Denver Museum of Art. "Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt," April 13–July 6, 2008, unnumbered cat.
Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt," August 2–October 2, 2008, unnumbered cat.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "History Refused to Die: Highlights from the Souls Grown Deep Foundation Gift," May 22–September 23, 2018, unnumbered cat. (pl. 46).
Jane Livingston inThe Quilts of Gee's Bend. Ed. William Arnett and Paul Arnett. Exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Atlanta, 2002, p. 58, ill. p. 52 (color).
Jane Livingston inGee's Bend: The Women and Their Quilts. Ed. William Arnett and Paul Arnett. Exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Atlanta, 2002, p. 60, ill. p. 54 (color), cover (color).
William Arnett inGee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt. Ed. Paul Arnett, Joanne Cubbs, and Eugene W. Metcalf Jr. Exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Atlanta, 2006, p. 27, ill. p. 144 (color).
Sally Anne Duncan. "Reinventing Gee's Bend Quilts in the Name of Art." Sacred and Profane: Voice and Vision in Southern Self-Taught Art. Ed. Carol Crown and Charles Russell. Jackson, Miss., 2007, p. 193, ill.
Amelia Peck inMy Soul Has Grown Deep: Black Art from the American South. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2018, pp. 91, 108, colorpl. 46.
Roberta Smith. "A Testament to Those Once Neglected." New York Times (May 28, 2018), p. C16, ill. (color), calls it "Medallion".
Elizabeth Pochoda. "Art Without Adjectives." Magazine Antiques 185 (July/August 2018), pp. 106–113, fig. 9 (color).
Mario Naves. "History Refused to Die: Highlights from the Souls Grown Deep Foundation Gift." New Criterion 37 (September 2018), p. 38.
Karen Wilkin. "A Visual Equivalent of Jazz." Wall Street Journal (May 31, 2018), p. A13.
Mary Elizabeth Kennedy (American, Boykin, Alabama 1911–1991 Boykin, Alabama)
ca. 1935
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